Page 35 of Alpha's Secret Baby

Cherry nodded. “Use my bedroom. Door to the right of the living room.”

I nodded, answering my phone. “Hey, Bert.”

“Bert!” Fern squealed excitedly behind me as I left the kitchen.

Cherry shushed her. “It’s a work call, Sweetie.”

“Was that Fern?” My Beta asked with glee. I strode into Cherry’s room. “It was indeed,” I affirmed happily.

I clicked the door shut and took a seat on Cherry’s bed.

“So things are going well in Berlin?” Bert asked.

“Very well,” I confirmed. “Cherry and I…” I paused, struggling to put into words how perfect things were between us and how excited about the future I was. Feeling overwhelmed, I settled for, “She’s giving me a chance, Bert.”

“You lucky bastard,” my Beta said, and I knew from his tone he was grinning happily for me. “And Fern? Did Cherry tell you whether–”

“She’s mine,” I said.

“I knew it,” Bert said. “Now, you really are the luckiest bastard under the moon.”

“I know,” I said, a smile spreading over my face. I was blessed by Nuu-Chah. And I wasn’t about to take these gifts given to me for granted. Never again. “Listen,” I said, “I’m going to stay in Berlin for a while.”

“Stay as long as you need, Dylan,” my Beta said. “You’ve got this, my Alpha. I’ll hold things down at the fort.”

“Thank you, my Beta,” I said, honoring him with his title too. “We’ll talk soon.” I hung up, letting my decision solidify.

I felt the certainty of Nuu-Chah’s will in me strongly. I was Alpha of Starsmoon and submitted to nothing and no one, except my love. Pleasure rippled through me as I remembered how exquisite it had been to give my mate exactly what she wanted. Cherry’s commanding tone last night played through my mind,“Kiss me…I want your cock inside me, mate.”Last night with Cherry had been divine.

And this morning with my mate and my daughter had been everything I could have wished for. I knew I was right where I needed to be. I would stay in Berlin for however long I needed to win my mate and family completely.

Shortly after I came out of the bedroom, Lara arrived to take Fern off to school. With a hug from both Cherry and me, our daughter went off with the nanny cheerfully. Cherry was dressed in a beautiful pale blue dress, showing off her slender arms and shapely calves. I watched her slipping her dainty feet into a pair of gray heels, and the now-empty apartment seemed to consort with me. I imagined stripping my mate and claiming her again and reveling in how her moans and whimpers would echo throughout the space.

But tamping down my desire, I knew I had to show restraint. “I guess you’d better get off to the store,” I said matter-of-factly.

Cherry looked as reluctant to move away from me too. I noticed that she’d inched closer to me. She slid her hands up my chest, a look of awe on her face as she touched me, as if she felt all the wonder of our growing mating bond too.

“I could come with you if you like?” I offered, causing her silver gaze to look at me with surprise. “Maybe I could help in the store? What do you say to putting an Alpha to work?”

The suggestive smile that painted her face again, had me wondering if she had last night on her mind and how she’d really like to put me to work again. But she swallowed and said, “I’d love your help in the store. Nina and Kendra, my sales assistants, will be on today. They could show you the ropes.”

After a short ten-minute walk and a pit stop for coffee at what I was now callingourcoffee shop, Cherry and I arrived at her store. She introduced me to her two sales assistants, who, although surprised to hear that I was there to help for the day, were soon eagerly showing me the stock and walking me through the sale they had on at the moment. Cherry also introduced me to her assistant designer, Maisy. I was slightly disappointed when I found out that Cherry and Maisy spent most of their time upstairs, where they worked on designing and making the patterns. It was gratifying to see that my mate was as anxious to be in my orbit, too, though, because throughout the morning, she seemed to find a hundred and one reasons to come downstairs. The client fitting she had with one of her customers had her loitering for a while outside the changing room. I eagerly drank in the elegant column of her neck, the arch of her back, and the swell of her breasts and hips. I tracked her long legs as she walked up and down, waiting for her client.

Cherryfinallytook a break at lunchtime and came to get me. “What do you fancy for lunch?”

There was only one thing I hungered for:Cherry. I couldn’t resist her tantalizing natural perfume any longer. Regardless of the sales assistants, I pulled my mate into my arms and kissed her passionately.

Chapter 23 Cherry

I’d taken Dylan to a local bistro for lunch after I’d heard that he particularly liked the schnitzel he’d tried in Berlin. I contentedly watched him devour his lunch, and then we returned to the store and studio for the afternoon. Despite all of my assistant designer Maisy’s teasing, I wasn’t able to restrain myself from “checking in” on Dylan again downstairs in the store.

My sales assistants had already told me at lunchtime what a stellar job he’d done all morning. Apparently, the sales were noticeably up with Dylan working the floor too. As I lingered at the bottom of the stairs, watching his tall, muscular form strut across the room, I could well believe it. I was sure that all the female customers would only too gladly receive any attention my handsome mate gave them.

I studied the strong profile of his face, the edge of his jaw, cheekbones, and the slope of his nose. Already, I felt greedy for his attention, and I missed his dark stare on me.

But a customer had just approached him. She wore one of my claret dresses and had another one in hand. “I need a second opinion. I don’t know whether to go for the size 38,” she explained, gesturing to herself, “or the size up.”

“I think the one you’re wearing is perfect,” Dylan said.

---